Induced delusion of having syphilis in the two members of a family from the elder sister who had no past history of psychiatric illness. Early diagnosis, antipsychotics and physical separation showed marked improvement within 2 months. The psychopathology and socio demographic variables showed marked variation from earlier concepts regarding the shared delusional disorder (SDD).

The challenge for the person of the therapist in the work with disadvantaged familiesHarry J Aponte, Nina Anne MéndezOctober-December 2014, 1(1):2-9

Socially disadvantaged families present special challenges to therapists. Within the families themselves the family relationships are often underorganized, that is lacking in firm structure and functional coherence. They also live in social circumstances that are not only unsupportive, but also actively destructive. The families struggle to cope with life's challenges, and may be guarded and untrusting of professionals who, while wanting to help, may appear to the families as intrusive and insensitive to a family's plight. This article identifies six basic therapeutic tasks that the authors believe essential to work with socially disadvantaged families. It also introduces a particular approach, The Person-of-the- Therapist Model, to therapists' use of themselves in the work with these families. It emphasizes therapists relating and working through their own life experiences, especially their personal vulnerabilities, as a medium through their own life experiences, especially their personal vulnerabilities, as a medium through to relate to the pain and brokenness of these emotionally and socially vulnerable families.

Background : Optimal stress brings out a student's best; however, extremes of stress can result in stress-induced disorders and deteriorating performance. Yoga is known to bring positive effect on personality development in students. Can yoga be beneficial in enhancing orderliness of brain functioning leading to increased academic performance in university students? Objective : To assess immediate effect of Nadi Shuddhi Pranayama (NSP), Bhramari Pranayama (BP), Om Meditation (OM), Pranic Energization Technique (PET), and Mind Sound Resonance Technique (MSRT) on brain wave coherence (BWC) in university students. Materials andMethods: Two hundred and thirty-four students in the range of 18-30 years of age and 21.63 ± 3.60 (mean ± SD) years of mean age were selected for the present study from a university at Bangalore, India. They were divided in two groups, 117 subjects in each group: yoga group (NSP = 15, BP = 30, OM = 29, PET = 27, and MSRT = 16) and control group (NSP = 15, BP = 30, OM = 29, PET = 27, and MSRT = 16). Brain wave coherence (BWC) data were collected immediately before and after the intervention (pre recorded session of 24 minutes in NSP, BP, OM, PET and MSRT to yoga group and sitting quietly with the eyes closed for the same duration in control group) using Brain Master 2 Channel EEG version 2.0 for clinical from Bio Medical Instruments, Inc., Warren, Michigan, USA. Results: The significant increase in delta was observed in BP, OM, PET, and MSRT. Similarly, significant increase in theta was also observed in BP and PET. Moreover, significant increase in alpha was found in BP and OM whereas significant increase in beta was noted in BP. It was also recorded that there was significant increase in gamma in NSP, BP and MSRT. There was no significant change observed in control group of yogic practices. Conclusion: The immediate effect NSP, BP, OM, PET, and MSRT on BWC compared with controls shows that these yogic practices are related with increased orderliness of brain functioning, which is essential for good academic performance. Additional well-designed studies are needed before a strong recommendation can be made.

Context : The prescribing of exercise by physicians has become a popular practice, yet the effectiveness of exercise on symptoms of depression is difficult to determine due to a lack of randomized controlled trials with clinical populations. Reports also indicate that only a small percentage of physicians advise their patients regarding exercise and confusion still exists as to how much and what types are best. Aims: To understand the mechanisms that make exercise a viable treatment in depression. Settings and Design: This study employed a six-week, two group, single-level trial, pre- and posttest design using self-report of symptoms, blood levels of serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, and frontal slow wave EEG activity as markers. This study was registered with clinicaltrials.gov. ID# NCT02023281. Subjects and Methods: Eleven participants with a diagnosis of depression between the ages of 18 and 65 were enrolled from March 2013 through May 2013. Baseline and post-intervention measures consisted of the Beck Depression Inventory-II, blood serum levels of serotonin, catecholamines (epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine), and mean alpha frequency. Statistical Analysis Used: A series of independent t-tests for each dependent variable was conducted. Results: Independent t-tests reveal significant between-group differences in depression scores (P = 0.005, d = 2.23); F7 activity (P = 0.012, d = 1.92); and F8 activity (P = 0.04, d = 1.52). Conclusions: The results of this pilot study show that even mild to very moderate levels of exercise 2-3 times per week consisting of alternating days of aerobic and strength resistance training can be effective in reducing symptoms of depression giving physicians concrete information for their patients on the prescription of exercise.

Background and Objectives: Studies have shown that people with schizophrenia die prematurely. Antipsychotic medications and clients' lifestyle seem to be the contributing factors to excess morbidity and mortality in these clients. The objective of this study was to investigate different lifestyle parameters, diet, body mass index, smoking, and unemployment, among schizophrenic clients in Palestine. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between August 2011 and February 2012 at the governmental primary psychiatric health care centers in Northern West Bank, Palestine. Two hundred and fifty clients were selected by a convenience sampling method and different lifestyle parameters were measured among the selected clients. Results : Regression analysis showed that smoking, obesity, and unemployment were significantly high among schizophrenia clients with the majority of clients having unhealthy lifestyles. Conclusion: The compromised health conditions of schizophrenic clients could be due to poor nutritional status and unhealthy lifestyle. These findings suggest that schizophrenic clients need nutritional follow-up as well as coaching to help them improve their lifestyle.

Prevalence of personality disorders symptoms among male high school students in Isfahan, IranAsghar Aghaei, Mohsen GolparvarOctober-December 2014, 1(1):22-29

Introduction: This research was conducted to examine the prevalence and variety of different personality disorders (paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic, avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive) among high school boys in Isfahan (Iran). Materials and Methods: Total 375 subjects were randomly selected from 46,340 high school boy students as the sample group. Multi-stage sampling was used. Individual − family characteristics' questionnaire and structured interview on the basis of the checklist of personality disorder symptoms as mentioned in DSM-IV were administered to them. The face validity of the checklist was verified. Concurrent validity was also assigned by examining the correlation patterns between the checklist and MCMI-II; correlation coefficient was equal to 0.3 to 0.6 for 10 personality disorders. The reliability of the checklist, which was determined by using the test-retest method with an interval of four weeks, was 0.63 to 0.8. The primary 10 questions concern the prevalence of personality disorders such as paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic, avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive among high school boy students in Isfahan. Result: Data analysis revealed the following results: paranoid, 5.9 percent; schizoid, 6.7 percent; schizotypal, 1.3 percent; antisocial, 6.9 percent; borderline, 8 percent; histrionic, 6.4 percent; narcissistic, 6.1 percent; dependent, 4 percent and obsessive-compulsive, 9.9 percent. Discussion and Conclusions: It is suggested that according to the self-reporting done by the students concerning the existence of personality disorder symptoms presented in DSM-IV, families and school consultants should be trained so that they can identify and evaluate the personality disorder symptoms. It is also suggested that a longitudinal study must be conducted to determine the stability and reliability of the symptoms.